Friday, December 12, 2014

Blossom

This scene greets you as you enter the village of Cave in south Canterbury. I've always been intrigued by this road sign of the older female child dragging a younger male child behind her. It was designed back in the 50's or 60's by a British women. It would be interesting to know if the sign would still be in use if it had been an older male hauling a young female along?

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Waves

These fierce looking waves are lapping around an aquarium near the new jetty in Kaikoura.
I assume they are waves not a closeup view of a circular saw blade. The table is an ex cable reel, that carries on the watery theme with a more realistic colour pallet. Sadly the aquarium was closed when we breezed past, I'm looking forward to returning to see what hardy aquatic life forms are out there braving those waves.

Monday, November 17, 2014

Monument

There are many hunks of rock scattered throughout the country's back roads commemorating some historical event. Quite often the event is of very local interest, almost like they are a marketing tool for that district. This one is dedicated to a a man who became a folk hero to many young struggling want to be farmers and others who felt they were out side what was then a very divided and class based society.  He also had a loyal dog which probably tugged at a few heart strings.

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Yuccas



I spent about an hour just wandering amongst these yuccas and cabbage trees, totally mesmerized by the almost cartoonish wonder of their shapes. I suspect there were once a few homes on this piece of land next to the railway line that runs along the east coast of the South Island. This landscape has a feel that it would be a great backdrop for a movie. I must return and see what it's like with different light.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Cattle stop

Cattle stops are a fiendish use for old railway tracks. They not only halt the progress of cows they pretty much stop all hoofed beasts. A harsh yet amusing way to wake a passenger in your car, is to speed up as you go over one. The bone shaking vibration and noise will either rudely rouse them from their slumber or induce a myocardial infarction.
Note the way the power poles on the ridge are like strolling body builder robots.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Paw

The ancestors of this creature having been roaming the hills of the South Canterbury region since around 1874. Rarely are they seen during the day. They bound about during the black of night seeking nourishment. Many have succumbed to instant lead poisoning. Declared a pest they are hunted.
I stumbled across this corpse when I was checking out the Mackenzie pass after completing a job in the the neighborhood. I lived in Wiamate (South Canterbury) as a very young boy while my father was a teacher there. Tales of this Australian invader lurking behind every tussock intrigued me. I never saw one in the wild. Imagine my excitement when I saw this fresh carcass on the side of the road. Who knew Red Neck Wallabies had such menacing looking front paws.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Kitten



We seem to attract monochromatic felines. Furdinand is the fourth cat that we have had All have been either grey and white, black & white, solid grey or silver tabby. He's only eight weeks old so he's being confined to one room only till he gets used to all the noises and smells, of which there are many, some dubious. Hopefully he may turn into one of kleptomaniac cats that's collects stuff from all over the neighborhood. He's already attracted to shiny metal, so maybe cash and jewellery will appear on the doorstep.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Négligeé



This flimsy wee number enticed me peruse a vintage clothing shop in Temuka. I tentatively and respectfully asked the charming proprietor if I could take a snap of this, subtlety gesticulating at the window. She said it was called a negligee, I replied that I knew this but I was too polite to utter the word in public. This style of garment needs to be backlit to bring out the details and lushness of the fabric.
It kind of reminds me of those old James Bond movies where all the women wore these and had double entrendre names. Interesting decoration under the windowsill.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Boat Sheds



We've been traveling a bit over the last few weeks, which gave me the opportunity to meander about on the scavenge for a snap or two. I'm a tad partial to practical no nonsense buildings. The top shed I feel was not originally designed as a shipwright's place of work.This was spotted near Blenhiem. As you can see it is embedded in a vineyard, one of at least a trillion that have taken over virtually every paddock in the district.
The middle shed is at least situated on the waters edge. The plaster work and colour are particularly exquisite. I like the well used crank thing too.
The bottom one could be a bit scary in a big storm. I think it must be better constructed than it looks because it appears to have been there for a considerable while. The road/dirt track that led along this bit of the coast was only about, on average, 20cm above sea level. Thankfully the tide had just turned and was on the way out and the wind was only gale force and frigid This shed and the middle one are both near Portabello on the Otago peninsula near Dunedin.


Monday, September 1, 2014

Macrocarpa

I had to go to Timaru for a job last week. After I had finished I headed for the beach in the hope of a good scavenge. The beach was devoid of goodies, however I had parked next to this fine specimen clinging to the top of a slowly eroding clay cliff. I have been wanting to try out the technique where several images are merged together to create a bigger more detailed image. This pic is made up of two portrait format photos blended together. How the software in the computer manages this boggles the mind. It's seamless!

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Benches

Another snap from Oriental Parade. Public benches intrigue me, what has been discussed, seen or overheard? I feel a series of pics developing.

Friday, June 27, 2014

Cyclist?

We were in Wellington a few weeks back. I spotted this bloke on a floating bike contraption just offshore round Oriental Parade. Who needs cycleways? Not sure if it would be comfortable in choppy weather.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Memorial


This War memorial is in Milton, a small town in southern Otago. Virtually all towns in New Zealand have a War Memorial, originally erected after the Great War of 1914-1918. These memorials commemorate the many young men from the local districts that were killed in conflict. This photo was part of series shot on 8" x 10" film and contacted printed way back in the early 1980's

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Fungi

This cluster of fungi was part of a larger colony all growing on what remained of some long gone tree stumps. I think they are called 'Laughing Jim' (Gymnopilus junonius)



Tuesday, April 15, 2014

B&W

Every so often I get sick of colour pics. Now is one of those every so oftens.  I stumbled across a book at the library about  the great American photographer Edward Weston. When I was a youth I was introduced to his snaps by Murray Hedwig, our photography tutor at Christchurch Technical Institute.
Along with my dear dear friend Kevin Capon we were instantly smitten by his pics, the subject matter, the sharpness, tonality and all round exquisiteness. For many many years I was heavily influenced by Edward Weston. I was shooting a lot of large format B&W and printing on what I consider the best photographic paper ever created, Agfa Portriga 111(it was discontinued about a year after I discovered it) and doing the whole archival processing thing.
It's been interesting re-reading about Edward again after such a break from him. I can now see his pics from a different stage of life perspective.
I'm hankering to get back home after nine weeks trapped in a motel waiting for earthquake repairs to be completed and get into the darkroom and dabble.


Sunday, March 30, 2014

Burl

This warty looking growth on what I think is an Elm is a burl. Burls are thought to be caused by the tree being stressed by some invading insect or virus. What ever the cause, the timber that lurks beneath that lumpy bark is utterly beautiful. If you own or have glimpsed the interior of very expensive British car like the Royal family frequent, you may be familiar with the wood panelling on the dashboard, quite often it is a veneer of Elm burr (burl). Many different species can produce burls. Sometimes I have found our native Beech tree burls washed up on a West Coast beach. I did find an Elm burl that someone had dumped on a river bank. After a gut busting struggle I managed to squeeze it into the back of the station wagon. Once I got it home I weighed it on the bathroom scales. Sadly this was the last thing they ever weighed. It was over 120 kg. Sadly I kept it on the ground and rot and borer consumed most of it.

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Necterines

One of my favourite fruits, the nectarine is always a joy to consume in the late summer/early autumn. Apparently they are the same species as Peaches, the only real difference being, is the fuzzless skin. This smoothness leads to a greater enjoyment as you don't have the hassle of either peeling or eating a peach skin. They are thought to of originated in China around 2000 years ago. this is interesting because for many years we in New Zealand were blessed with an abundance of divine stone fruit grown in the perfect conditions of Central Otago. A large proportion of this fruit was canned so everyone could enjoy it in the dead of winter. Now days with all the big corporations striving to reap huge monetary rewards for their executives and shareholders it's all about quantity at the least cost. This has led to a lot of our canned fruit now comes from China.

Repairs

We've had to clear the house out and move to a motel while our house gets the cracks fixed that were created by earthquakes. I need to take some course on decluttering, after nearly 30 years in the same place a few bits and pieces accumulate. I quite like the look of the above minimalism.

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Spire

What a cool hut this could make. Like the old sheds, out buildings etc, a paddock full rescued spires
would be interesting.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Enchanted Gardens exhibition



Here are a couple of the six snaps I was invited to exhibit in a  group show called 'Enchanted Gardens' which is part of the Festival of Flowers. www.festivalofflowers.co.nz 
‘Enchanted Gardens’ presents works by 19 New Zealand artists.The exhibition considers the relationship between nature and people, their gardens and parks.
It's on until Feb 28 at the CPIT, City Campus, Rakaia Centre, (long black building sometimes referred to as Darth Vaders' coffin) Madras St, Christchurch
My pics are portraits of trees left 'still standing' after the earthquakes.

Summerhill Stone


Summerhill Stone was a type of concrete brick that was popular in the 1950's and 60's.
A big part of it's popularity was it came in many colors. This meant
it never needed painting and you could have all sorts of abstract geometric patterns.
The top pics is a motel in Reefton, which was the first town in New Zealand to have electricity.
The bottom one is the Methodist church hall in New Brighton that was built by my late Uncle Dick. As a tribute to his build quality, the brick church that stood beside it didn't survive the earthquakes. Sadly when the church was smashed up by the demolition company, they also obliterated a rare old pipe organ. Rumour has it that it was one of only three made by a local Christchurch company. One may  speculate that had this organ been in a church 'on the other side of town' there would of been great efforts to save it and not let it trashed for scrape.

Shed

Imagine how cool it would be to have a paddock populated with old sheds, huts. shelters and assorted abandoned small buildings/structures. This corrugated wee beauty is not abandoned. It sits alongside the railway station in Reefton. You don't see too many with a curved roof.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Pruning

Yet more tree control. The silver birch on the left is a protected tree, I think that means it is not allowed to be cut down. Normally I am against such molestation, for some reason this works. The monkey puzzle tree is rumored to have survived 80 years, so far.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Truncated

In the days when men had their haircut by a barber, the most brutal no nonsense 'style' was the 'short back and sides'. This standing corpse of a tree (stump seems too puny a word to describe the presence of this elephantine cliff of wood) reminds me of pictures of those nuggety blokes all shorn and ready for a hard day's 'yaka'. According to a plaque hanging on the fence this old gum tree was planted back in the 1860's in Motueka and was decapitated in 2006. The sign nailed to it  commands those who may have the desire/urge to climb it should forget it.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Whale

Another gull on the prowl for a tasty tidbit.  I'm pretty sure this Blue Eyebrowed whale didn't let the gull snatch any dinner. However I don't think the prowler went hungry that evening. It was summer's evening in Nelson and many holiday makers had infested the area to eat their fish & chips.

Gull

When ever you go fishing gulls are your constant companion. Perpetually hungry they never take their eyes of your pile of juicy bait. Occasionally one will entangle itself in your fishing line. This causes high excitement in the flock. Almost immediately, as the hapless bird struggles to free itself, every other gull within earshot will take to the wing and surround their distressed colleague. I puzzle over this behavior, are they showing concern and band together to so solidarity to downed brother/sister? or are they hoping for an easy meal? Once I have reeled the bird to shore and gently untangle it unharmed from the line and release it, the crowd disperses. Just an aside, those beaks are very sharp and pecky.





Thursday, January 23, 2014

Sheep


These little beauties were spotted on track on the Port Hills of Christchurch. Not wanting to sound cruel or mean, I enjoy the apparent dimness of sheep.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Scud


Our ultra beloved cat, Scud had to be put down very suddenly last week. Turns out he probably lung and or blood cancer. Many tears were shed. He was very smoochy and social always hanging around wherever we were.
He always liked it whenever I would finally sit down so he could leap on me to settle in for a nap.
Whenever visitors left he would amble down the drive and out out onto the berm to see them off.
We miss him so much. Farewell.